This is a side-note to the thread I started about Armand's Country Music Dreams ( http://www.copywritersboard.com/viewtopic.php?t=2468 )

Anyhow... An amazon review on Armand's CD said this:

What do you think? Should they, you, I, we all go get real jobs?

I was at an Easter Egg Hunt this afternoon with my daughter. In a conversation with a guy who has a "real job," he mentioned that their company was just purchased by an even bigger company.

Out of 10 guys in his department... 4 are left. Him and three others.

Sorry... but I don't like the odds of a REAL job.

I also think this person has a point -- there are a lot of scammers and jammers out there. People preying on the weak and unsuspecting.

This internet thing is like the Wild West -- and everyone's trying to get their stake in the gold rush.

So... again... what do you think? Any comments?

The guy is about 90% right. It's pretty crazy out in internet land.

All the sales letters look and read the same, everybody is a guru, everybody has a "secret" to share, and I'm sure it's getting old to a lot of people but I can't say these techniques will ever stop selling products.

I for one have bought a lot of information products. I've bought stuff from Dan Kennedy, Jay Abraham, John Carlton, and many others... Some of it was great and really helped, some didn't.

I'm definatley not saying I know it all, but after reading a ton of physical books, e-books, coaching programs, etc it all started to sound exactly the same for the most part. I'm at a point now where there isn't much out there that excites me.

I could care less about your new secret. Actually, I have a secret, wanna know what it is? THERE ARE NO SECRETS, just clever re-packaging.

I think Armand actually made that point, at least I think it was Armand, at the Big Seminar last November.

He was comparing it to other periods of rapid growth (e.g. infomercials.)

The relevant point being that once upon a time, night owl TV time was cheap, and anyone with a camera and a product to pike could easily ovecome a relatively low barrier to entry.

Nowadays, of course its 24/7 infomercials, QVC etc. and the big money and increasing sophistication makes it tougher for the maverick marketer/ noob to get in on the action.

Eventually the money folks will figure the Internet out (if they haven't already), and if the rest of us don't have our ducks in a row, we'll get pushed out.

Keep Innovating, or Perish.

Ricky said :
I agree with you there are too many guru.

I think modestely, that you missed just one thing during your adventure, and this one is : to be critic.

You may read to any one, the important thing to do is to experement what you have learned.

You will gain 80% knowledge by experience.

So it is time to make the first step.

Good luck.

Andy Catsimanes said :
the sentence that resume all my thoughts.

I hope some day to make it in french, i will express my inner thought better, it make a difference the language you choose.

thank you for this one : Keep Innovating, or Perish., i think that i will foten use it .

I will say that I've purchased thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of programs since getting on the Internet.

I would be stretching the truth if I said that more than 15% of it was any good.

After a while you really start getting "burn-out".

I think what you might be reading in this "comment" is someone who's been on the net for quit a while and has been scammed more than once.

These days it's very rare for me to make any purchases that are high-priced for the simple fact that I already have a preconceived notion that it's worth only $10.00 - 15.00.

I don't mind spending small, reaosonable chunks of change, but it's usually because someone I know personally has already tried it out and it's worth it.

I especially don't believe testimonials from some of the top marketers, because I believe that a lot of them are all good buddies and they help push each others products.

Now, that being said, I do have interests in attending seminars (which I believe most are a bit high priced), but I'll at least get to meet and interact with like-minded people (much like the folks here).

I think that's all the steam I've got in my engine right now...

-- signing off

Of course they are good buddies. "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." It's a given.

Plagiarised?! You mean all this stuff spilling fresh out of my brain, that I've never put down on paper before, is plagiarised?! Sh*t!!!!! Here I thought I was doing something original. Grrrrr!

This is not my underwear. They are my PJ's. Do you not see the pink mooses all over them?!?! I am fully clothed here. Hello!!! Get it straight! LOL

Bailey

As long as you sell something of real worth that folks actually want or need you will make money without scamming anyone.

I just bought a motherboard from newegg.com for my daughter's computer yesterday. That's a real product I needed. But that market is tough. My son tried it and gave up. His budget was way too small to compete with the established marketers. That doesn't mean there aren't real physical products that small time marketers can't make money with. But it's not easy.

The market for information is wide open. I don't buy many of those products any more but if I see one that fills a need I have then I have to decide whether my current budget can afford it. I'm working on a couple info products now. I continually add to my list of ideas as well. And I don't even try to compete against other "how to get rich on the internet" marketers. I am working on things that other people actually want and need. Will I get rich? I haven't yet but I sleep well at night and hope to find the right niche or 20 so I can get rich.

I heard this a long time ago and I think there is some truth in it.

"Cater to the classes and live with the masses. Cater to the masses and live with the classes."

A job is only good until you can become a success in your own business. Jobs are not secure. Just ask the few thousand that have been laid off from the company I work for in the last couple years.

Bailey,

Pink Mooses?

Now I've heard it all!

While that review JP found seems a little bit extreme, I too have to wonder what in the world Armand is doing producing a music cd if all it is is a promotional tool for the seminar he's selling.

I'm all for doing something unique for the sake of good publicity, but sunts like this make me question the value of the seminar being sold. If it had enough value in itself, I wouldn't think he'd need to go to these lengths to sell it, would he?

Of course - I suppose he could just be a music buff who wanted to get his music out there - but then why not just sell the seminar and ship the CD's as a bonus?